by Lisa Binion
Our journey into the world of homonyms continues, as we explore words
from bail through bear that are spelled differently, yet sound alike.
Bait and bate
Bait can be used as either a noun or a verb. As a noun, it is a
lure used in hunting or fishing. As a verb it means to attract, tempt,
or captivate.
Worms are commonly used as bait in fishing.
Bate, a verb, means to lessen or restrain.
The toddler's tirade will bate if she manages to get her own way.
Baize, bays, and beys
Baize is a soft, green, felt-like fabric used for the tops of billiard tables.
Charlena bought a special cleaner to care for the baize on her new pool table.
Bays are bodies of water, larger than coves but smaller than gulfs.
The treasure was rumored to be hidden in one of the bays off of the coast of New England.
Beys are one or more officials in the Turkish government.
The President visited Istanbul to meet with several beys.
Bald, balled, and bawled
If you are bald, you have no hair.
Our new neighbor, Mr. Jones, is bald.
Balled is to form something into a ball.
The children balled up the snow to form a snowman.
Bawled is to have cried vigorously.
Mrs. Dawkins bawled upon learning that her only child had been kidnapped.
Ball and bawl are also homonyms.
A ball is a round object, hollow or filled, that is used in various games such as kickball, baseball, basketball, etc.
Marvin whacked the tennis ball right off of the court.
To bawl is to cry lustily.
Sandy, a very spoiled child, would always bawl when she didn’t get her way.
Band and banned
A band is a group.
The band of weary travellers searched for a place to sleep.
When something is banned, it is forbidden.
The dictatorship banned newspapers from publishing news of the riots.
Bard and barred
A bard is a poet.
William Shakespeare is a famout English bard.
When something is barred, it is enclosed or trapped by poles.
The prisoner stared out the barred window of his cell.
Bare and bear
When something is bare, it is naked.
Dorothy, proud of how shapely her bare legs were, always wore shorts.
A bear is a large, carnivorous mammal or a rude, bad-mannered person.
Shelia spotted a huge brown bear searching for fish in the lake outside her cabin.
No comments:
Post a Comment